If you've ever met me in person or seen me on YouTube, you'd probably agree that I'm not exactly a looker. As the popular slang goes, I'm a solid 5, maybe a 6, and a 7 on my absolute best days, but I am definitely not "Hollywood pretty." I'm overweight, I've got a chubby face, … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Makeup & Hairstyling
As a writer, the Screenplay categories are among my favorites. They're also the only categories where I even have a calculable chance of ever getting nominated myself. Currently, those chances stand at 0.000000873%. It's the three that's most important. Last year it was 0.000000871%. Things are starting to look up for me, I can feel … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Original Screenplay
A few years ago, in a futile attempt to be seen as more relevant to the demographics that never found it relevant in the first place, the Academy floated a lot of changes that were framed as addition by subtraction. The two most famous of those extremely ill-advised proposals was the introduction of a "Best … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Sound
Welcome one and all to the annual Oscar Blitz! At long last, after a year of lockdowns and two months of logistical delays, we finally can begin the countdown to the biggest night in cinema. Now, you may be asking why I call this the Blitz when the articles are called "Oscar Gold." You're probably … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – Documentary Feature
The official Blitz starts tomorrow with a breakdown of the Documentary Feature category. However, we still have a few more movies to watch to actually be able to complete coverage. A couple days ago I posted Part 1 of this nine film mini-marathon, and now it's time for Part 2. Three more films to take … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Blitz Catch-Up, Part 2
Part of the problem with a lot of spy thrillers is that the films lean much more into the action fantasy than the actual tradecraft of espionage, for fear that the actual nuts and bolts of an operation would come off as boring. A couple of films over the past decade plus have given it … Continue reading The Tale of the Moscow Mule – The Courier
It's time for the annual Oscar Blitz to begin in earnest! Starting on Monday, and over the next five weeks until the biggest night in entertainment, I'll be going through my favorite annual ritual of breaking down each and every category and nominee for the Academy Awards. Every weekday until we're done, I'll analyze the … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2021 – The Hub
Now that the Oscar nominations are out, the annual Blitz is on in full effect. From the moment they were announced, I already had 13 of the 23 categories sewn up, enough for me to plan out my coverage on a tentative basis. I'll go over all that tomorrow, but suffice to say, when all … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Blitz Catch-up, Part 1
Welcome to the first review for the official 2021 cinematic canon! Yes, I've been doing reviews ever since the calendar turned over nearly three months ago, but all of those were 2020 movies that had delayed releases (strategically and by circumstance) and/or are competing in this year's Academy Awards. If 2020 had been normal, they … Continue reading A Grand, Mystical Fetch Quest – Raya and the Last Dragon
One year. Literally, exactly, one year. On March 15, 2020, after the mayor of Los Angeles announced the city was shutting down due to the COVID outbreak, my then-girlfriend and I went out one last time to the movies together. We saw First Cow. There were two other couples in the theatre with us, for … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: I’m Going Home
I Actually Paid To See This 